Standard inventory management device, standard inventory management system, standard inventory management method

Abstract

To provide a basic inventory management technique which allows for securing an appropriate quantity of stock of each item and improving inventory profitability.SOLUTION: A basic inventory management device of the present invention is configured to determine priority levels of items for taking further measures using at least one of the crossover ratio, crossover difference, and inventory allocation ratio as criteria for deciding whether or not to implement measures for inventory optimization.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for efficiently adjusting a reference inventory quantity and optimizing inventory. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing and wholesale industries, standard inventory management is an important management task for optimizing inventory. The standard inventory quantity is the amount of inventory that is set so that the sum of the amount of inventory on hand and the amount of inventory remaining on order is always equal to or greater than this number. The standard inventory quantity is ultimately decided by the person in charge, based on values ​​such as safety stock and procurement lead time. However, in recent years, with the trend of placing emphasis on customer service, and in the event of a need to respond to sudden customer requests and other short delivery times, the person in charge is often setting the standard inventory quantity higher and carrying more inventory than necessary.

[0003] The following Patent Document 1 describes the problem that "it is an object of the present invention to enable inventory adjustment among a plurality of products based on a consistent evaluation standard for optimal inventory" and the solution that "the problem is solved by providing a calculation means for calculating a managed cash flow, which is an evaluation index of a product, from a profit indicating a product's stockout risk and an inventory increase amount indicating an inventory risk, a classification condition setting means for setting classification conditions for classifying products including at least the managed cash flow, a storage means for storing categories into which products are classified according to the classification conditions and inventory adjustment priorities of the categories in association with each other, an inventory evaluation means for determining a category to which a product belongs according to the classification conditions, a determination means for determining the priority of inventory adjustment for a plurality of products according to the category determined by the inventory evaluation means and the corresponding information between the category and the inventory adjustment priority stored in the storage means, and an inventory adjustment means for adjusting the inventory of a plurality of products according to the priority determined by the determination means" (see abstract). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-256369 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The standard inventory level should not only be determined by maintaining a larger amount of inventory to meet customer service needs, but should also take profitability into consideration, such as by having more inventory for profitable items and less inventory for items with low profit potential. However, it is difficult to carry out such a study individually in a short period of time for a huge number of items.

[0006] In Patent Document 1, the inventory level of all products is optimized by using an evaluation index that is consistent between total quota management and individual item management. However, in actual inventory management, it is not always necessary to optimize the inventory level across all products, and there may be cases where it is more desirable to optimize the inventory for each item. For example, there may be cases where the inventory appropriate for each item should be set individually due to the unique circumstances of the item.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a standard inventory management technique that can ensure appropriate inventory quantities for each item and improve inventory profitability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The reference inventory management device of the present invention uses at least one of the crossover ratio, crossover difference, and inventory provision rate as a criterion for determining whether or not to implement measures for inventory optimization, and further determines the priority of items for which measures will be implemented. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the reference inventory management device of the present invention, the degree of improvement in inventory profitability for each item can be calculated by calculating the reference inventory limit value taking into consideration the crossover ratio and inventory provision rate for each item, and a priority order can be assigned to measures for adjusting the reference inventory. This allows for efficient and effective correction of the reference inventory quantity for inventory optimization. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those mentioned above will become apparent from the description of the embodiment below. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a functional block diagram of a reference inventory management device 100 and a reference inventory management system 10 according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram of a process in which a user sets reference value definition data 124, and the reference inventory management device 100 extracts items requiring measures based on the reference values ​​and calculates the priority order of the measures. [Diagram 3] An example of the item data structure is shown below. [Figure 4] 13 shows an example of the configuration of inventory allocation rate data 122. [Diagram 5] 13 shows an example of the configuration of crossover ratio data 123. [Figure 6] An example of the configuration of sales volume data is shown below. [Figure 7] An example of the configuration of countermeasure item data is shown below. [Figure 8] 1 shows an example of the configuration of reference value definition data 124. [Figure 9] 1 shows an example of the configuration of period definition data 125. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure by which the reference inventory management device 100 extracts items for which measures for inventory optimization are to be implemented. [Figure 11] 1 shows an example of the configuration of standard inventory review item data 126. [Figure 12] 1 shows an example of the structure of order data. [Figure 13] 13 shows an example of the structure of ordered data. [Figure 14] 13 shows an example of the configuration of initial inventory data. [Figure 15] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which the reference inventory management device 100 calculates a priority order for implementing measures regarding the reference inventory quantity. [Figure 16] 1 shows an example of the configuration of receipt and payment data 127. [Figure 17] 13 shows an example of the configuration of standard stock limit value data 128. [Figure 18] 1 shows an example of the configuration of evaluation result data 129. [Figure 19] 13 is an example of reference value definition data 124 in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] <Embodiment 1> 1 is a functional block diagram of a reference inventory management device 100 and a reference inventory management system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The reference inventory management system 10 includes the reference inventory management device 100, a user terminal 300 used by a reference inventory manager, and a database 400. These are connected to each other via a network 200 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0012] The user terminal 300 is an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer). Using the user terminal 300, the reference inventory manager can set reference values ​​for extracting items for which the reference inventory quantity is to be considered and reference values ​​for calculating the priority order for implementing measures against the reference inventory quantity. The user terminal 300 transmits the set reference values ​​to the reference inventory management device 100. The user terminal 300 displays information output by the reference inventory management device 100 on a screen.

[0013] The database 400 is, for example, a database that accumulates data from a system such as ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning) or similar. The database 400 can be configured with a storage device that stores data and a computer that transmits and receives data. The database 400 stores master information (for example, five data items, such as item management data 121, inventory allocation rate data 122, crossover ratio data 123, sales scale data, and countermeasure item data, which will be described later).

[0014] The network 200 communicatively connects the user terminal 300, the database 400, and the reference inventory management device 100. The network 200 is usually a communication network managed by a user organization, such as a local area network (LAN). However, the network 200 is not limited to these, and may be a public communication network such as the Internet, or a communication network that partially uses a general public line, such as a wide area network (WAN) or a virtual private network (VAN).

[0015] The reference inventory management device 100 can be configured using an information processing device such as a PC or a server computer. The reference inventory management device 100 extracts problem items with a low degree of inventory optimization, and presents a reference inventory limit value and a priority order of measures to efficiently improve those items. Two indicators are used to measure the degree of inventory optimization: (a) the crossover ratio (= the ratio of profit to the inventory amount) that measures whether each item is a profit-generating part, and (b) the inventory allocation rate (= the ratio of the number of orders to the number of inventory allocations) that measures the percentage of customer requests (orders) that have been allocated and shipped. The crossover amount, which will be described later, may be used instead of the crossover ratio.

[0016] Once the standard inventory manager sets item selection criteria and prioritization criteria for optimizing the standard inventory quantity, the standard inventory management device 100 performs a judgment process to extract items according to the item selection criteria. Next, the standard inventory management device 100 calculates the standard inventory limit value for each extracted item using the prioritization criteria. Finally, the standard inventory management device 100 calculates the deviation of the evaluation index before and after the change in the standard inventory quantity for all extracted items, and prioritizes items in order of the effect of changing the standard inventory quantity. This allows the standard inventory manager to efficiently review the standard inventory quantity and optimize the inventory by prioritizing items with a low degree of inventory optimization and where improvement effects are expected. The specific processing procedures will be described later.

[0017] The reference inventory management device 100 comprises a calculation unit 110, a memory unit 120, an input unit 130, and an output unit 140. The input unit 130 receives operation instructions (e.g., instructions from a user terminal 300) for the reference inventory management device 100. The output unit 140 outputs the results of processing by the reference inventory management device 100. The output format may be any format, such as a screen display or output of data describing the processing results.

[0018] The calculation unit 110 includes an inventory provision rate criterion determination unit 111, a crossover ratio criterion determination unit 112, a sales scale criterion determination unit 113, an excluded item determination unit 114, a standard inventory limit value calculation unit 115, an evaluation index improvement degree calculation unit 116, and a countermeasure priority order calculation unit 117. The operation of each of these functional units will be described later.

[0019] The storage unit 120 stores item management data 121, inventory allocation rate data 122, crossover ratio data 123, reference value definition data 124, period definition data 125, reference inventory review item data 126, receipt and payment data 127, reference inventory limit value data 128, and evaluation result data 129. The storage unit 120 is composed of a storage device such as a hard disk drive or a flash memory device. Details of each data will be described later.

[0020] 2 is a sequence diagram of a process in which a user sets the reference value definition data 124, the reference inventory management device 100 extracts items that require measures based on the reference values, and calculates the priority order of the measures. Each sequence in FIG. 2 will be described below.

[0021] The standard inventory management staff uses the user terminal 300 to instruct the standard inventory management device 100 to start up, and transmits the standard value definition data 124 and the period definition data 125. The standard inventory management device 100 receives the command, and requests master information (for example, five data items, such as item management data 121, inventory allocation rate data 122, crossover ratio data 123, sales scale data, and countermeasure item data, which will be described later) from the database 400. The database 400 receives the request, and transmits various master information items stored in advance to the standard inventory management device 100. The standard inventory management device 100 receives the various master information items, stores them in the storage unit 120, and uses the master information items to extract items for which measures are to be implemented. The standard inventory management device 100 notifies the user terminal 300 of the standard inventory review item data 126, which is the extraction result, and the standard inventory management staff checks the result on the user terminal 300. The details of the above procedure will be described again with reference to FIG. 10.

[0022] The standard inventory control person uses the user terminal 300 to check the standard inventory review item data 126 and, if necessary, updates the standard inventory review item data 126 by adding or deleting items from the standard inventory review item data 126.

[0023] The user terminal 300 notifies the reference inventory management device 100 of the updated reference inventory review item data 126. The reference inventory management device 100 receives the notification, transmits the reference inventory review item data 126 to the database 400, and requests the database 400 for master information whose item names match the data (e.g., three data items: order data, ordered data, and initial inventory data). The database 400 receives the request, and transmits various master information stored in advance to the reference inventory management device 100. The reference inventory management device 100 receives the information, and calculates a priority order for implementing measures for inventory optimization. The reference inventory management device 100 notifies the user terminal 300 of the priority order, and stores it in the database 400. Details of the above procedure will be described again with reference to FIG. 15.

[0024] <Embodiment 1: Item Extraction> Fig. 3 shows an example of the structure of item data. The item data is configured as a part of the item management data 121. The item data holds the item name, supplier ID, procurement lead time, priority control item flag, and standard stock quantity. These data are significant as basic information about the item.

[0025] Fig. 4 shows an example of the configuration of inventory allocation rate data 122. The inventory allocation rate data 122 is data describing, for each item, the percentage of items that were shipped on the date for allocating inventory in response to a shipping request within a certain period. The inventory allocation rate data 122 holds item names, inventory allocation rates, and dates as the history of inventory allocation rates. The dates are the start and end dates of the period for which the inventory allocation rate is calculated.

[0026] FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of the crossover ratio data 123. The crossover ratio indicates the ratio of profit to inventory. If the crossover ratio is 1 or more, it can be said that the item is generating profit, so the crossover ratio is an index for judging whether the inventory is appropriate or not. The crossover ratio data 123 is data describing the ratio of profit to inventory during a certain period. The crossover difference indicates the difference in how much the profit exceeds the inventory. If the crossover difference is greater than 0, it can be said that the item is generating profit, so the crossover difference is also an index for judging whether the inventory is appropriate or not, just like the crossover ratio. The crossover ratio data holds the item name, crossover ratio, crossover difference, and date. The date is the start date or end date of the period for which the crossover ratio and crossover difference are calculated, and in principle represents the same period as the date of the inventory allocation rate data 122.

[0027] Fig. 6 shows an example of the configuration of sales scale data. The sales scale data is configured as a part of the item management data 121. The sales scale data is data that describes the sales and profits for each item. The sales scale data holds the item name, sales amount, profit, and fiscal year.

[0028] FIG. 7 shows an example of the configuration of countermeasured item data. The countermeasured item data is configured as part of the item management data 121. Normally, a certain amount of time must pass between the implementation of a countermeasure to review the standard stock quantity and the effect of the countermeasure being reflected in the stock quantity. Therefore, it is appropriate to exclude items for which countermeasures have not been implemented for a long time from the items for which countermeasures are to be implemented. Therefore, the countermeasured item data manages items for which a standard stock review has already been implemented. The countermeasured item data holds the item name and the date of countermeasures. The data example in FIG. 7 shows that countermeasures have been implemented for item G.

[0029] Fig. 8 shows an example of the configuration of the reference value definition data 124. This data defines the reference values ​​when the reference inventory management device 100 executes each step in Fig. 2. The reference value definition data 124 holds the reference items, item selection reference values, and inventory reference values. How to use these reference values ​​will be explained in the flowchart below.

[0030] Fig. 9 shows an example of the configuration of period definition data 125. This data defines the target period for the step in which the reference inventory management device 100 extracts items to be considered and the step in which countermeasure priority is calculated in Fig. 2. The period definition data holds the item selection date, start date, and end date. The item selection date is the date on which the step of extracting items is carried out. The start date and end date indicate the target period for each step.

[0031] Fig. 10 is a flowchart explaining the procedure by which the reference inventory management device 100 extracts items for which measures for inventory optimization are to be implemented. This flowchart explains the details of the first step executed by the reference inventory management device 100 in Fig. 2. This flowchart is executed by the calculation unit 110. Each step in Fig. 10 will be explained in detail below.

[0032] In step S1001, the inventory allocation rate standard determination unit 111 determines and extracts items whose inventory allocation rate is equal to or greater than a standard value from among all items being handled. For items whose rate of being unable to be shipped due to lack of inventory is lower than the standard value, the standard inventory quantity is not changed. This is because it is important to first improve inventory allocation so that it can be performed reliably and to improve customer service. Therefore, items whose inventory allocation rate does not meet the standard value are excluded from the target items for which the standard inventory quantity is optimized through this step. For example, seven items, A to G, are registered in the inventory allocation rate data 122 in FIG. 4, whereas the item selection standard value in FIG. 8 is defined as an inventory allocation rate of 100%. Therefore, the inventory allocation rate standard determination unit 111 extracts only items whose inventory allocation rate in the inventory allocation rate data is equal to or greater than 100%. As a result, item E is excluded, and the remaining six items (A, B, C, D, F, and G) are extracted.

[0033] In step S1002, the crossover ratio standard determination unit 112 determines and extracts items whose crossover ratio is equal to or less than a standard value among the items extracted in step S1001. In this step, since items whose crossover ratio is low, that is, whose inventory value is higher than the profit obtained, need to be reduced to an inventory value commensurate with the profit, items whose crossover ratio is equal to or less than a standard value are extracted. For example, the crossover ratio of the item selection standard value in FIG. 8 is defined as 0.9. The crossover ratio standard determination unit 112 checks the crossover ratio for each item in the crossover ratio data 123 in FIG. 5, and extracts items that satisfy the standard value (crossover ratio is equal to or less than 0.9). In this data example, all items being extracted except for item E have a crossover ratio of 0.9 or less, so there are six candidate items for which measures should be taken. The crossover difference may be used instead of the crossover ratio. The same applies to the following steps.

[0034] In step S1003, the sales scale criterion determination unit 113 determines and extracts items whose sales scale is equal to or greater than the reference value from among the items extracted in step S1002. Generally, when changing the reference stock quantity, a confirmation work by the person in charge of managing the reference stock is required, but the number of man-hours for this work is limited. Therefore, in this step, items that have a high business improvement effect due to the change in the reference stock are preferentially extracted. For example, in the reference value definition data 124 in FIG. 8, the sales amount of the item selection criterion value is set to 10M. The sales scale criterion determination unit 113 checks the sales amount for each item in the sales scale data in FIG. 6, and extracts items that meet the criterion (sales amount is 10M or more). In this data example, item F is excluded from the six candidate items, and the remaining five items (A, B, C, D, G) become candidate items for standard stock consideration.

[0035] In step S1004, the excluded item determination unit 114 determines excluded items from the candidate items extracted in step S1003. For example, since item G is listed in the countermeasured item data in Fig. 7, item G is excluded from the candidate items, and the remaining four items (A, B, C, and D) are extracted as items for which countermeasures will be implemented.

[0036] Fig. 11 shows an example of the configuration of standard inventory review item data 126. Standard inventory review item data 126 is created as a result of the flowchart in Fig. 10. The item selection reference date is the same as the item selection date defined by period definition data 125 as the target period for implementing the flowchart in Fig. 10. Standard inventory review item data 126 holds item name, crossover ratio, inventory provision rate, crossover difference, sales, profit, and item selection reference date. These data items are each data item obtained from master information via the flowchart in Fig. 10.

[0037] <First Preferred Option: Priority> FIG. 12 shows an example of the structure of order data. The order data is configured as part of item management data 121. The order data is data that records the order history for each item over a certain period of time. The order data holds the item name, quantity, date, and customer ID. This data assumes that the order is shipped immediately after it is received, and the order date and shipping date are managed as a single date, but if the order date, shipping date, sales posting date, etc. are different, the dates must be managed separately. In the receipt and payment process in S1501 described later, for convenience of description, it is assumed that the order data is recorded using the date (or shipping date) as shown in FIG. 12.

[0038] Fig. 13 shows an example of the structure of ordered data. The ordered data is configured as part of item management data 121. The ordered data describes the history of orders that were processed but not yet received before the first day of the target period for which the second step (countermeasure priority calculation) in Fig. 2 is performed, that is, before the start date of period definition data 125. The ordered data holds item name, quantity, receiving date, ordering date, and supplier ID.

[0039] Fig. 14 shows an example of the configuration of initial inventory data. The initial inventory data is configured as part of the item management data 121. The initial inventory data describes the inventory on the first day of the target period for which the second step (priority calculation) in Fig. 2 is performed, that is, as of the start date of the period definition data 125. The initial inventory data holds the item name, inventory quantity, and date. The date is the same as the start date of the period definition data 125.

[0040] Fig. 15 is a flowchart explaining the procedure for calculating the priority order for implementing measures for the reference stock quantity by the reference inventory management device 100. This flowchart explains the details of the second step implemented by the reference inventory management device 100 in Fig. 2. This flowchart is implemented by the calculation unit 110. Each step in Fig. 15 will be explained in detail below.

[0041] In step S1501, the standard stock limit value calculation unit 115 calculates the limit value of the standard stock for the items listed in the standard stock review item data 126. The limit value of the standard stock is equal to or greater than the stock allocation rate of the stock standard value in the standard value definition data 124, and the crossover ratio is equal to or greater than the crossover ratio of the stock standard value in the standard value definition data 124, and is the standard stock quantity that maximizes the crossover ratio. The larger the crossover ratio, the higher the profitability, but on the other hand, the greater the possibility of stockout due to the reduction in surplus stock. Therefore, the standard stock quantity that maximizes the crossover ratio while satisfying the standard value of the stock allocation rate is once determined as the limit value, and the standard stock quantity is optimized within that range. This step is for determining the limit value.

[0042] Examples of methods for calculating a standard stock quantity that adheres to the standard value include the following. The current standard stock quantity in the item data is used as the initial value, and the standard stock quantity is reduced at a fixed rate or at fixed intervals, while calculating receipts and payments from the start date to the end date of the period definition data 125 each time (i.e., simulating the arrival and shipment of items). Of the standard stock quantities whose stock allocation rate and crossover ratio are equal to or greater than the standard value, the standard stock quantity that maximizes the crossover ratio can be adopted as the limit value. Any search method, such as a binary search, may be used to search for the standard stock quantity. The standard stock limit value calculation unit 115 performs this process for all items in the standard stock consideration item data (Figure 11).

[0043] Fig. 16 shows an example of the configuration of receipt and payment data 127. The receipt and payment data 127 is data obtained in the process of step S1501, and describes the number of incoming items, the number of outgoing items, the number of in-stock items, and the number of items that are in short supply during a period when a standard stock quantity that is the standard stock limit value is used. The date is the last day of the period for which the simulation was performed.

[0044] 17 shows an example of the configuration of the reference stock limit value data 128. The reference stock limit value data 128 is data obtained as a result of step S1501, and describes the reference stock limit value for each item. The reference stock quantity may be set for each period, such as depending on fluctuations in demand or the presence or absence of a sales promotion campaign. Therefore, the reference stock limit value is set together with the date. During periods when the reference stock quantity is not changed, it is also possible to set one reference stock limit value for each item and use the same reference stock quantity during that period.

[0045] 18 shows an example of the configuration of evaluation result data 129. Evaluation result data 129 is data storing the results of S1501 to S1503. Evaluation result data 129 holds item name, inventory allocation rate, crossover ratio, crossover difference, crossover ratio improvement degree, crossover difference improvement degree, inventory allocation rate improvement degree, and priority order. In S1501, the inventory allocation rate, crossover ratio, and crossover difference are stored. In S1502, the crossover ratio improvement degree, crossover difference improvement degree, and inventory allocation rate improvement degree are stored. In S1503, the priority order is stored.

[0046] In step S1502, the evaluation index improvement calculation unit 116 calculates the degree of improvement of the evaluation index using the result of step S1501. First, the crossover difference for each item is calculated based on the receipt and payment data 127 calculated in step S1501. Next, the inventory allocation rate improvement degree is calculated by subtracting the inventory allocation rate of the inventory allocation rate data 122 from the inventory allocation rate calculated in step S1501. Furthermore, the crossover ratio improvement degree is calculated by subtracting the crossover ratio of the crossover ratio data 123 from the crossover ratio calculated in step S1501. Similarly, for the crossover difference, the crossover difference improvement degree is calculated by subtracting the crossover difference of the crossover ratio data 123 from the crossover difference calculated in this step. Finally, the above three types of improvement degrees are stored in the evaluation result data.

[0047] An example of the calculation in S1502 will be described. In the reference value definition data 124 in Fig. 8, the reference values ​​for the inventory allocation rate are both 100% for the item selection reference value and the inventory reference value, so the inventory allocation rate improvement rate is 0 (zero) for all target items. It is necessary to find the crossover ratio and crossover difference amount for each item. For example, for item A, the crossover ratio of the inventory reference value is 1.00, while the original crossover ratio before the reference inventory was changed was 0.37, so the crossover ratio improvement rate is 0.63.

[0048] In step S1503, the countermeasure priority calculation unit 117 determines the priority order of items for which countermeasures for the standard stock quantity are to be implemented. In order to efficiently implement countermeasures for the standard stock quantity within limited human resources and time, it is important to prioritize items with low inventory optimization levels and high improvement effects from changing the standard stock. Therefore, the countermeasure priority calculation unit 117 prioritizes items in descending order of the crossover ratio improvement level in the evaluation result data 129. By implementing countermeasures for the standard stock quantity from the top items according to this priority order, the standard stock manager can prioritize measures for items with high improvement effects on the inventory optimization level.

[0049] When there are multiple items with the same crossover ratio improvement degree, they may be sorted in descending order of the crossover difference improvement degree, and priority may be given to items with the greatest improvement degree. For items with the same crossover ratio improvement degree and crossover difference improvement degree, priority may be further given to items with the greatest improvement degree of inventory allocation rate. For example, if the reference value for the inventory allocation rate is set to less than 100%, the inventory allocation rate improvement degree will be greater than 0, so priority can be given to items with the greatest improvement degree of inventory allocation rate.

[0050] When the reference value of the inventory allocation rate is set to less than 100% (e.g. 90%), the inventory allocation rate may be lowered to that reference value. However, since a lower inventory allocation rate means an increased possibility of stockouts, it is preferable not to lower the inventory allocation rate as much as possible. Therefore, as an option, the closer the inventory allocation rate calculated in S1502 is to 100%, the higher the priority may be. Alternatively, depending on the individual circumstances of each item, such as the warehouse capacity or the business importance of the item, stockouts may be tolerated to a certain extent. For such items, it is considered that the inventory allocation rate does not need to be close to 100%. In consideration of such circumstances of each item, the priority may be determined by preliminarily using the improvement degree of the inventory allocation rate (or the distance between the inventory allocation rate and 100%).

[0051] <First embodiment: Summary> The base inventory management device 100 according to the first embodiment maintains an inventory quantity commensurate with the profit by utilizing the crossover ratio (= the ratio of profit to the inventory value) or the crossover difference (= the difference obtained by subtracting the inventory value from profit) that measures whether each item is a profit-generating part or not, and determines the priority order of measures for all target items so that the base inventory quantity can be reviewed efficiently in order of the item that has the greatest effect on improving inventory profitability by changing the base inventory quantity. This makes it possible to improve the profitability of inventory items while securing the necessary inventory quantity. In other words, when there is a need to optimize the base inventory quantity for each item, this can be effectively achieved.

[0052] The reference inventory management device 100 according to the first embodiment calculates a limit value of the reference inventory quantity by a receipt and delivery simulation so that the inventory allocation rate satisfies a reference value (the ratio of inventory that can be allocated to customer orders satisfies a reference value). Furthermore, within the range of the limit value, a reference inventory quantity that can maximize an evaluation index (improvement degree of crossover ratio or improvement degree of crossover difference) is obtained. This makes it possible to improve profits while securing an appropriate reference inventory quantity without reducing the reference inventory quantity too much.

[0053] The base inventory management device 100 according to the first embodiment sets the priority of measures for the base inventory quantity in descending order of the degree of improvement of the crossover ratio or the degree of improvement of the crossover difference. As an option, the priority of measures is determined in descending order of the degree of improvement of the inventory allocation rate or based on whether the inventory allocation rate is close to 100%. This allows the base inventory quantity to be optimized in descending order of the items for which measures are most effective.

[0054] In the first embodiment, the sequence in Fig. 2 assumes that the reference stock manager will make the final decision on whether or not to change the reference stock quantity. On the other hand, if the reference stock manager does not need to check, the reference stock management device 100 can automatically change the reference stock limit value and the reference stock quantity, taking into account conditions such as the processing time for changing the reference stock and the total improvement degree.

[0055] <Embodiment 2> In the first embodiment, it has been described that the standard stock limit value calculation unit 115 calculates the standard stock limit value from the viewpoint of how much the crossover ratio (or crossover difference) can be increased, on the premise that the stock allocation rate is secured to a standard value or more. This is intended to maximize profitability within a range, on the premise that the stock allocation rate is secured. Unlike the first embodiment, it is also possible to maximize the stock allocation rate within the range, on the premise that profitability is secured.

[0056] Therefore, in the reference inventory management device 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the reference inventory limit value calculation unit 115 calculates the reference inventory limit value from the viewpoint of how much the inventory allocation rate can be increased, on the premise that the crossover ratio is ensured to be equal to or greater than the reference value. In this case, in S1501, the current reference inventory quantity is set as the initial value, and the receipt and payment calculation is performed while increasing the reference inventory quantity. After ensuring the reference inventory quantity that results in the crossover ratio (or crossover difference) being equal to or greater than the reference value, the reference inventory quantity that results in the maximum inventory allocation rate can be adopted as the limit value. The other processing is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0057] 19 is an example of the reference value definition data 124 in the second embodiment. The stock reference value is set to a crossover ratio of 1.00, but the stock allocation rate is not set. In this case, the reference stock quantity with the maximum crossover ratio among the candidates of the reference stock quantity with a crossover ratio of 1.00 or more is the solution and becomes the reference stock limit value.

[0058] <Embodiment 3> In the first and second embodiments, the items for which countermeasures against the reference stock quantity are to be implemented are first extracted, and then countermeasure priorities are determined for those items. This order may be reversed. Therefore, the reference inventory management device 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention first determines countermeasure priorities for all items, and then extracts items for which countermeasures are to be implemented. The processing procedures for each step are the same as those in the first and second embodiments.

[0059] <Modifications of the present invention> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiment has been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and is not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

[0060] In S1501 of the above embodiment, the order simulation used to search for the limit value does not necessarily have to be performed using the actual order history. For example, the order simulation may be performed using pseudo values ​​generated within a reasonable numerical range.

[0061] In the above embodiment, the inventory allocation rate can be any of the following: (a) the ratio of the amount of an item that can be delivered within the scheduled delivery date to the amount of orders received (delivery on-time rate); (b) the ratio of the amount of an item that can be shipped to the amount of items requested to be shipped (shipping rate). The amount referred to here may be the number of items or the number of orders.

[0062] In the above embodiment, the reference inventory management device 100 acquires the master information from the database 400. However, the database 400 may be configured as a part of the reference inventory management device 100.

[0063] In the above embodiments, the calculation unit 110 and each functional unit provided in the calculation unit 110 can be configured by hardware such as a circuit device that implements the function, or can be configured by a calculation device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing software that implements the function. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 10: Standard inventory control system 100: Standard inventory control device 110: Arithmetic section 111: Inventory allocation rate standard determination section 112: Cross ratio standard judgment section 113: Sales scale standard determination department 114: Exclusion Item Determination Division 115: Standard inventory limit value calculation section 116: Evaluation index improvement degree calculation unit 117: Countermeasure priority calculation unit 120: Storage section 121: Item management data 122: Inventory allocation rate data 123: Crossover ratio data 124: Reference value definition data 125: Period definition data 126: Standard inventory review item data 127: Receipt and payment data 128: Standard stock limit data 129: Evaluation result data 130: Input section 140: Output section 200: Network 300: User terminal 400:Database

Claims

1. A reference inventory management device that determines measures to optimize a reference inventory, A calculation unit is provided for determining one or more items for which a measure to optimize a reference inventory is to be implemented, and for determining a priority of implementing the measure among the items, The calculation unit is determining one or more reference values ​​to be used for determining whether or not to implement the countermeasures, and extracting items for which the countermeasures are to be implemented from among the items; Calculating the limit value of the standard stock for each of the extracted items, which satisfies the determined standard value and maximizes the evaluation index; determining a priority for implementing the measures for each of the extracted items according to a degree of improvement of the evaluation index by implementing the measures within the range of the limit value; The calculation unit sets the reference value as At least one of a crossover ratio indicating the ratio of profit to the inventory value of the item or a crossover difference indicating the difference obtained by subtracting the inventory value from the profit, or The inventory allocation rate, which indicates the ratio of the ordered items to the shipped items allocated from the inventory, At least one of the following shall be determined for each item. A reference inventory management device characterized by:

2. The basic inventory management device further includes a storage unit for storing inventory allocation rate data in which a history of the inventory allocation rate is described for each of the items, the calculation unit includes an inventory allocation rate determination unit that determines whether the item satisfies the reference value defined by the inventory allocation rate, The inventory allocation rate determination unit refers to the inventory allocation rate data and extracts the items whose inventory allocation rates are equal to or greater than the reference value as the items for which the countermeasures are to be implemented.

2. The standard inventory management device according to claim 1.

3. The reference inventory management device further includes a memory unit for storing crossover ratio data that describes at least one of the history of the crossover ratio or the history of the crossover difference for each of the items, and the calculation unit includes a crossover ratio determination unit that determines whether the item satisfies the reference value defined by the crossover ratio or the crossover difference, The crossover ratio determination unit extracts the item for which the crossover ratio or the crossover difference is equal to or less than the reference value as the item for which the countermeasure is to be implemented by referring to the crossover ratio data.

2. The standard inventory management device according to claim 1.

4. The basic inventory management device further includes a storage unit for storing sales data that describes a sales history for each of the items, The calculation unit includes a sales amount determination unit that determines whether the item satisfies the reference value defined by the sales amount, The sales amount determination unit refers to the sales amount data and extracts the item whose sales amount is equal to or greater than the reference value as the item for which the countermeasure is to be implemented.

2. The standard inventory management device according to claim 1.

5. The calculation unit includes an excluded item determination unit that extracts excluded items for which the countermeasures are not to be implemented, The calculation unit determines the priority for the items other than the excluded item, and does not determine the priority for the excluded item.

2. The standard inventory management device according to claim 1.

6. The basic inventory management device further includes a storage unit for storing item data describing a current value of a basic inventory quantity for each of the items, The calculation unit includes a reference inventory limit value calculation unit that calculates the limit value, The standard stock limit value calculation unit searches for the limit value by simulating a process of receiving or shipping the item while varying the stock quantity of the item described in the item data from the current value.

2. The standard inventory management device according to claim 1.

7. The storage unit further includes: order data describing the order history of said items; Ordered data describing the history of said items that have been ordered but not yet received; inventory data describing the inventory quantities of said items; It stores The standard stock limit value calculation unit uses the order data, the ordered data, and the stock data to simulate a process of receiving or shipping the item.

7. The standard inventory management device according to claim 6.

8. The calculation unit includes an evaluation index improvement calculation unit that calculates an improvement degree of the evaluation index, The evaluation index improvement degree calculation unit calculates an improvement degree of at least one of the crossover ratio, the crossover difference, and the inventory provision rate as an improvement degree of the evaluation index.

2. The standard inventory management device according to claim 1.

9. The calculation unit includes an evaluation index improvement calculation unit that calculates an improvement degree of the evaluation index, The reference inventory control device further comprises: inventory allocation rate data describing the history of the inventory allocation rate for each of the items; Crossover ratio data describing at least one of the history of the crossover ratio or the history of the crossover difference for each item; A storage unit for storing The evaluation index improvement degree calculation unit calculates the improvement degree of the evaluation index by: Calculate the improvement of the crossover difference based on the value obtained in the process of the simulation; Calculating an improvement in the inventory allocation rate by subtracting the inventory allocation rate described in the inventory allocation rate data from the inventory allocation rate obtained in the process of the simulation; Calculate the improvement of the crossover ratio by subtracting the crossover ratio described by the crossover ratio data from the crossover ratio obtained during the simulation process.

8. The standard inventory management device according to claim 7.

10. The calculation unit includes a countermeasure priority calculation unit that calculates the priority, The countermeasure priority calculation unit sets the priority in descending order of the degree of improvement of the evaluation index.

2. The standard inventory management device according to claim 1.

11. The standard inventory limit value calculation unit, The improvement degree of the crossover ratio or the improvement degree of the crossover difference is used as the improvement degree of the evaluation index, The limit value is searched for by searching for a standard inventory quantity where the inventory provision rate is equal to or greater than the standard value and the degree of improvement of the crossover ratio or the degree of improvement of the crossover difference is maximized.

7. The standard inventory management device according to claim 6.

12. The standard inventory limit value calculation unit, The improvement degree of the inventory provision rate is used as the improvement degree of the evaluation index, The limit value is searched for by searching for a standard stock quantity where the crossover ratio or the crossover difference is equal to or greater than the standard value and where the improvement of the inventory provision rate is maximized.

7. The standard inventory management device according to claim 6.

13. The inventory provision rate is Delivery date compliance rate calculated as the ratio of the amount of the item that can be delivered within the scheduled delivery date to the amount of orders received, or A shipping rate calculated as a ratio of the available shipping quantity to the shipping request quantity of the item; Either 2. The standard inventory management device according to claim 1.

14. The reference inventory management device according to claim 1 , a database storing a list of said items; Equipped with The computing unit retrieves the list from the database and determines which of the items described in the list should have the countermeasures implemented. A standard inventory control system characterized by:

15. A reference inventory management method for causing a computer to execute a process for determining a measure for optimizing a reference inventory, The computer includes a step of determining one or more items for which a measure to optimize a reference inventory is to be implemented and determining a priority of the items for which the measure is to be implemented, The step of determining the items and the priority includes: determining one or more reference values ​​to be used for determining whether or not to implement the countermeasures, and extracting items for which the countermeasures are to be implemented from among the items; A step of calculating, for each of the extracted items, a limit value of the standard stock that satisfies the determined standard value and maximizes the evaluation index; determining a priority of implementing the measures for each of the extracted items according to a degree of improvement of the evaluation index by implementing the measures within the range of the limit value; having In the step of determining the items and the priorities, the reference values ​​are: At least one of a crossover ratio indicating the ratio of profit to the inventory value of the item or a crossover difference indicating the difference obtained by subtracting the inventory value from the profit, or The inventory allocation rate, which indicates the ratio of the ordered items to the shipped items allocated from the inventory, At least one of the following shall be determined for each item. A standard inventory management method.

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